New era for top-performing primary school after launch of nursery

A top-performing school is stepping into a new era with the launch of its new nursery.

St William’s RCVA Primary in Trimdon Village has launched its Little Wills nursery and is hoping it will grow to serve generations of families for years to come.

Youngsters at St William's RCVA Primary School's new nursery.

During the pilot phase there are seven children in the nursery, and two more joining after Easter, but the school, which is rated as outstanding by Ofsted, is hoping to grow significantly for the new academic year starting in September.

It was launched in January and already representatives from several other schools eager to pick up on their successes have visited the new nursery to follow their lead.

The new facility, which serves families from the Trimdons, Wynyard, Fishburn, Sedgefield and Coxhoe, is a significant development for the school and has also led to several new employment opportunities.

Deputy headteacher Lisa Wade, who is also leading the new unit, said: “There is no Catholic nursery for several miles and we wanted to provide the opportunity for families to send children from aged 3 right up to age 11.

“Its been a real success and its like they have always been part of the school.

“We have had other schools coming to have a look at what we are doing because they’re looking to start a Catholic school nursery and they want to see what we’re doing.

“We started in January and we have seven children, and there are two more starting after Easter. Now we are looking to September and we are looking to expand and grow even further.”

Ms Wade believes the nursery will allow for more continuity for children who are set to attend the school from reception - giving the youngsters and the teachers a chance to get to know each other and develop their academic capabilities.

“We’ve had really good feedback and the children as young as three say they are really happy here,” she added. “And we’ve had a lot of parents say how brilliant it is.”